Reflections on Attending and Presenting at #uocOT 2016

Reflections on Attending and Presenting at #uocOT 2016

Thinking back to this time last year, at the very beginning of my research journey, I remember attending the 2nd year's dissertation research conference and feeling inspired, considerably apprehensive about the roller coaster of a journey that was to come, but excited to jump on board and get started. 

One year on, and I'm well on the way to finishing my research write up as part of my dissertation and it was our turn to present our findings within the MScOT Student Research Conference. There was some live tweeting throughout the conference which you can have a look at if you are interested by checking the hashtag #uocOT. You can also see a full transcript over on healthcare hashtags. 

I thought I would document some of my take home thoughts from the keynotes and some of the research presented within the sessions.

NB: Views and reflections are my own but will have been impacted by discussions and interactions throughout the day. I have used tweets to help illustrate thoughts and views and where possible I have referenced these at the end of the blog post.

Morning Keynote: Anna Clampin "Research and Evidence – tools for a Profession’s development?"


Anna Clampin gave a brilliant keynote within the morning session, highlighting the importance of us as clinicians being able to innovate and use the tools we have available to us. She also highlighted the importance of evidencing the difference we can make as the occupational therapy profession. She also challenged us to think are we to casual in our approach to shouting about what we do? Are we communicating what we do as occupational therapists or where we CAN go in our profession?

#uocOT twitter feed

She also highlighted the importance of networking and sharing, making those connections is key if we are to have influence on a local, national and global level. I took away from this session. Being able to influence the contexts we work within is so important as we strive to utilise occupational therapy to its full potential in benefiting the individuals and communities we can and will work with. We have a responsibility to develop, share and utilise the evidence base within our clinical work and as well as a profession as a whole if we are to communicate the value we can contribute within changing contexts and priorities. 

#uocOT twitter feed

It's always great to hear from occupational therapists that have a large array of experience in a mix of clinical practice, research, as part of the professional body and education as it allows me as a complete novice to see the potential and they huge possibilities there are for me within the profession I am part of.







Extra Thoughts: Professor Diane Cox


I say this quite a lot in my blog posts, but we really do have some amazing researchers on staff at the University of Cumbria who inspire and share their clinical experience with us. It was great to hear about all the different clinical areas and opportunities Diane has had within her career so far. 

We are encouraged to say yes to opportunities, even if it feels scary. Just what you need to hear 15 mins before you present your research findings to a group of your peers! But seriously a key take home message as I begin my career as an OT: There will be opportunities and if we are going to continue to increase the knowledge of occupational therapy within the wider contexts we work within and help impact on policy and best practice we need to be able to be brave and say YES! when we are given opportunities.


Presenting my research - Attitudes to Social Media use as a platform for CPD


As part of #uocOT, each of our cohort had to present our research findings, to a small group of our peers. This was a really exciting opportunity after we have spend so long reading the background preparing and carrying out our own

research. 

Apart from it being one of the most nerve-racking things I've done (see previous blog posts on the challenges I have with public speaking), On reflection, it was actually a really positive experience (and I never thought I would EVER be writing that).

As this was part of our dissertation module as a formative assessment, our peers and the tutor in the room gave feedback on our presentation and the content, which has been a great way of increasing my confidence that I do actually understand my research findings and can communicate them verbally.

It was a really positive to see on my feedback forms that others could see my passion for the topic, because I had been so worried about actually presenting the content, Im hadn't really thought past getting the words out my mouth, never mind sharing the passion I had on the utilisation of social media within CPD.

Lots on learning points on presenting too - such as speaking a little slower and louder, but considering how nervous I felt when i was speaking I think that was almost acceptable at this point.


Thankfully I was first to present in our group, so felt able to really listen and get to grips with everyone else's research, here are a couple (I'm being good and picking a couple as all of the presenters I heard had really interesting and relevant research) from my group that I found really interesting:


Catrin Williams: 'The benefits of crafts as a therapeutic tool in the rehabilitation of older adults'.


This was a really interesting presentation, in that as Catrin has been in my learning set this term, I have had a few discussions with her throughout her research process about how she was getting on with what she was doing. It has always struck me the passion she has for the use of craft within occupational therapy practice. 

#uocOT twitter feed

The use of craft within physical occupational therapy does appear to be happening and I think its key that we continue to recognise the therapeutic use to our service users. 


Take home thought: As long as we as OTs can justify the need to use crafts to benefit our service users, it is still a tool that should be utilised. 




Graeme Poulton: 'Investigating the reasons men study occupational therapy: Implications for recruitment' 


Graeme was sharing his research on the reasons males choose to study occupational therapy. I was interested in this, particularly as I have an interest in the education side of occupational therapy practice. Part of his findings highlighted the lack of knowledge of occupational therapy within male school leavers within his respondents. 

Graeme also highlighted that this may be an issue with the publicity and awareness of the profession more widely. I wonder what impact this has on the people we have both currently and will have in the future, training in our profession. Are we missing a whole host of individuals that have great transferrable and innovation skills, who are simply unaware of what occupational therapy is and what we do?


Take home thought: What can I do to improve this as a practitioner? Relating it back to this mornings keynote, who do I need to contact with to influence change, what opportunities do I need to say yes to make an impact on this?


Afternoon Keynote: Allan Brownrigg ‘Don’t cut me out’ young people, self-harm and recovery'


Our afternoon keynote was also really enlightening, as it was great to hear about Alan Brownrigg's research journey. It was also brilliant to hear from another messy literature searcher and that was not necessarily seem as a negative. I was really interesting in his PHD research into young people and self harm recovery and i'm looking forward to it being published so that the evidence based can benefit from it. 


Again we were challenged in how we will practice. We need continue to create the evidence base and not just go by 'business as usual'  



Closing Remarks: Dr Karen Morris 


The day was summed up well by Karen, as she again reiterated the importance of research within our practice and the importance of being aware of not just going along with the flow because 'it's always been done that way'. 



As nearly qualified OTs that can feel like a big challenge... but as evidence based practitioners striving to do the best for our service users, would we want it any other way? 

Massively proud of the rest of the cohort!
We have come so far in last few years. 

References: 


Brownrigg A (2016) ‘Don’t cut me out’ young people, self-harm and recovery'[Keynote Lecture to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. . University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Clampin, A (2016) "Research and Evidence – tools for a Profession’s development?" [Keynote Lecture to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April

Cox, D. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/dianecox61 (Accessed 06 April 2016).

Cox, D (2016) [Post Keynote Remarks to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Healthcare Hashtags (2016) #uocOT Transcript (2016) Available at: http://embed.symplur.com/twitter/transcript?hashtag=uocOT&fdate=04%2F05%2F2016&shour=07&smin=25&tdate=04%2F07%2F2016&thour=00&tmin=00 (Accessed: 6 April 2016).

Jones, V.  (2016) 6 April. available at: https://twitter.com/Vicky_Jones_89 (Accessed 7 April 2016)

Morris, K (2016) 'MScOT Student Conference: Book of Abstracts and Conference Proceedings',  HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria.

Morris, K. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/morrisKOT (Accessed 6 April 2016)

Poulton, G.. (2016) [Presentation to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Wallcook, S. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/sarah_wallcook (Accessed 6 April 2016)

Williams, C. (2016) [Presentation to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Year 2: Week 20 - Time to analyse the data

Key Term: Finding the themes

Another week another research focus, and this week has focused on the first of my data analysis, and it is so much more time consuming than I had anticipated... I feel sorry for my poor printer as the 304 pages that needed printed put a lot of strain on it and its ink supply! Even this stage took a whole afternoon! I almost wish I had used the uni printers, but can't see the queue of students being impressed by the wait to print their documents. 

I decided to use excel to record my themes, I had been planning to do it on paper and cut and stick my themes as i went along but this in it's self felt like it could cause too much procrastination so decided the laptop was the way forward. It's an ongoing process, which is taking a lot longer than I had planned but it's interesting to see the themes emerge as I go through. 

What else have I been doing?

If only we could just focus on the research then life would be so much more relaxed, but with two other modules bubbling along as well, time management is key to getting everything done. Im finding dedicating one day to each of the modules a week is working well and then any extra days can focus on any of the items that are higher priority for the week. 

We spent time this week in our Developing OT practice module hearing from a tutor int he business school, about business planning, which reminds my of my undergraduate degree a little to much. I was however pleasantly surprised to see so many transferable skills between both sectors, those skills will at least come in handy for something. 


For more insight into my journey to become an occupational therapist; follow me on twitter: @OTontheTracks

Projecting the Future of Occupational Therapy... Reflections on attending #BAOTatYSJ

6th BAOT Northern and Yorkshire Student Conference - Projecting the Future of Occupational Therapy

With the sunny backdrop of York, Myself and 3 others from my course attended the BAOT Northern & Yorkshire student conference. Having just completed PP2 and getting ready to go back into classes for the last couple of months of my first year, the conference gave me ample opportunities to be inspired and expand my understanding of a few areas of the occupational therapy profession and how it is ever-changing not just in it's history but as we look to the future.

YSJ OT Society Committee
encouraging delegates to tweet
throughout the conference. 

You can see the tweets from the conference over on twitter using the hashtag #BAOTatYSJ

NB: Views and reflections are my own but will have been impacted by discussions and interactions throughout the day. I have used tweets to help illustrate thoughts and views and where possible I have referenced these at the end of the blog post.

Jennifer Creek - Opening Plenary 'Occupational Therapy in 21st Century" 

It was really exciting to hear Jennifer Creek speak at conference having spent a huge part of my degree so far with my head in her textbook. She gave such a great opening plenary that inspired me and cemented my decision to become an occupational therapist. 

She shared her thoughts on the core skills that occupational therapists use and our uniqueness as a profession. I couldn't help but think back to my Intro to OT assignment and wished that I had been able to hear her speak before I had submitted it as It felt somewhat relevant. 

My takeaway thoughts from her opening plenary were the ever adapting scope of our profession and how as OT's we need to be willing to recognise our core skills and adapt to new areas of practice if we want to continue to help people access their occupations as the impact of challenges affect mankind. 

Slide from Jennifer Creeks Presentation

Occupational Therapy really is an exciting profession to be training to enter, the client mix and career scope really is limitless, as long as there are people with occupations then we have a role to help people engage with them.

Workshop Sessions 

The conference had five workshop sessions to choose from and three available session slots. All the sessions focused on the conference brief of projecting the future of OT. I chose three to attend although I really would have liked to have gone to all five. I will discuss briefly about the sessions I attended, but the twitter feed has tweets from all the sessions for it's worth checking out. 

'I am an OT and I work generically with clients engaged in dark occupations'

Slide from Rob Berry's powerpoint
presentation during workshop

This session began by focusing on what we perceive to be occupations and how we would define them.  It also gave us the opportunity to discuss in groups the role of OT by focusing on what our superhero OT would look like.

The Enablerist

Our group created 'The Enablerist" previously 'The Enabler' (the group at the next table stole our name!). We felt that our powers would be enabling, empowering, enthusiasm, engagement and other E related skills! 

Slide from Rob Berry's powerpoint
presentation

On the serious side though we acknowledged as OTs we spend a great deal of our time with patients enabling and encouraging them to access their meaningful activities i.e. their occupations. It begs the question what do we do when the clients occupations are detrimental aka 'dark occupations'?

Our group then discussed terrorism as an occupation which is something we may come into contact with in some form or another with our clients as an OT.  As our group discussed terrorism it became clear it did fit into the definition of occupation we had previously discussed during the session. 



As OTs we can not encourage dark occupations, there is no question about that, but we do have to begin to understand them if we are to be truly client centred in our practice. 

It also highlighted the importance of supervision, peer support and the use of evidence based practice to guide what we do with clients engaging in dark occupations to make sure what we are doing is meeting our code of ethics as practitioners.

This session also dealt with the prospect that we may end up in generic roles if we choose to work in mental health as OTs. It is a strange concept to think that after studying to be an OT that we'd be in a role that doesn't have occupational therapist in the title. But as we look at the future of our profession it is probably something that will be come even more commonplace than it is now. I was thankful that as I read the job description for a generic mental health role that nurses/social workers I could see that it includes areas that would and do utilise our unique OT skills and also placed importance on your ability to maintain your professional registration and development whilst working under the code of ethics. 


'I am an OT and I work in Learning Disability Services'

Slide from Karen Brown's presentation
during workshop

This session included discussion about what a learning disability is and the issues someone suffering from them may experience. It also introduced us to Lego Therapy. 



It was really interesting to hear about collaborative working with the SLT that she had done but also to understand our unique perspective as OTs to understand activities in a different and therapeutic way when using them to help achieve goals with a individual. 



We got to have a go in our groups which helped us understand the skills and components of the activity which was fun if not slightly frustrating for our group as we struggled to make ours! We were told we had the hardest one but it does beg the question how many MSc OT students does it take to make a Lego model of a dinosaur?


It was really positive to hear how it had been used in practice and the type of models clients Karen Brown had worked with had made and did help to give an increased understanding of Lego Therapy's use in clients in Learning Disabilities Services. 



This session also encouraged us to look further than the NHS for roles as OTs and consider a role within Learning Disabilities. 

Toys that use the switch technology

'I am an OT and I utilise technology in interventions'

This was a really informative session led by Paula Spencer, and team from William Merritt DLC allowing us to have a go at some of the the technology available  using switches.

We got to see toys, adapted phones and video games all using the switch technology to allow individuals with limited movement access the activities that are important to them in the day to day life. I was really interested to hear about the role of the switch technology with apple smart phones and the part the technology sector could plan in helping individuals with disabilities to do the things they love and intern increase there social activities. 

This session also gave me an opportunity to learn more about adaptions to help people with disabilities drive and intro increase their independence. 


Having come across people who would need adaptions to enable them to continue or learn to drive over the past few years, It was good to hear about the role of the OT in recommending the possible adaptions. It gave me a chance to get a few answers about the length of time until that are re assessed and how that decision is made too, which was really helpful.


Katrina Bannigan -Closing Plenary: IHC Plymouth Case Study Research Project

Katrina Bannigan closed the conference by sharing about the IHC Plymouth Case Study Research Project. I have been around during an #OTalk about it earlier in the year but was still struggling to grasp the idea if I'm honest so it was good to hear about the project. 


Great example of technology being used at the conference as well as she video called in to give they closing plenary. 



Other Highlights of the Conference are:

@althacks @OTontheTracks 
@Vicky_Jones_89 @CPstudentOT

Getting to catch up with friends from uni after 8 weeks on placement

8 weeks apart so lots to catch up on before going back to uni on Monday.

‏@OTontheTracks @OT_rach 

Meeting Rachel Booth in person

Its always nice to meet people from twitter in person, and even managed to get a selfie with Rachel. 

@althacks @OTontheTracks@Vicky_Jones_89 @CPstudentOT
 @jcreektv

Getting a selfie with Jennifer Creek 


Need I say more... photo with the women behind the textbook!

Selfie donations went towards #creek600 to help send an African OT or student to the 2015 WFOT regional conference in Uganda.

All in all I left the conference ready to tackle the end of first year and excited about the future of the profession i have chosen to enter. It has given me food for thought and insight in areas I may not have previously considered to work which can only be a positive thing. 

York St John OT Society and BAOT Northern and Yorkshire Region Students did a fab job at organising this conference and I'm really thankful to have had the chance to attend it as an OT student.

References 

Bannigan, K (2015)  IHC Plymouth Case Study Research Project [Closing Plenary] 6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference. York St Johns University. 5th June.

BAOT NY Students. (2015) 5 June. available at:  https://twitter.com/BAOTNYStudents (Accessed 6 June 2015).

Berry, R. (2015) I am an OT and I work generically with clients engaged in dark occupations  [Workshop to BAOT N&Y Student Conference], A.  York St Johns University]. 5 June. 

Booth, R.  (2015) 5 June. available at: https://twitter.com/OT_rach (Accessed 6 June 2015)

Brown K. (2015) I am an OT and I work in Learning Disabilities Services [Workshop to BAOT N&Y Student Conference], A.  York St Johns University]. 5 June. 

Spencer P. (2015) I am an OT and I utilise technology in interventions [Workshop to BAOT N&Y Student Conference], A.  York St Johns University]. 5 June. 

Castro, L. (2015) 5 June. available at: https://twitter.com/LaurenSC1986 (Accessed 6 June 2015)

Creek, J (2015) Occupational Therapy in 21st Century  [Opening Plenary] 6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference. York St Johns University. 5th June.

Dulson, A.  (2015) 5 June. available at: https://twitter.com/alison_dulson (Accessed 6 June 2015)

Spencer P. (2015) I am an OT and I utilise technology in interventions [Workshop to BAOT N&Y Student Conference], A.  York St Johns University]. 5 June. 

York St Johns University '6th Annual BAOT N&Y Student Conference Delegates Pack',  (2015)

Guess who is the new #OTalk Student Digital Leader Intern?

http://otalk.co.uk/2015/04/08/otalk-14th-april-is-a-welcome-kelly-oteaparty/

It's Me! 

I'm really happy to be letting you all officially know that I am joining the #OTalk Crew as 'Student Digital Leader Intern'. I never actually thought when I applied I would be in with a shot to be honest so I was pleasantly surprised to be asked to join the team after a bizarre Skype call on Tuesday involving chat of snowmen and equally random but hilarious questions (there were a few serious ones too). 

As most of you will know I love all things OT and social media so its exciting to be able to utilise both passions together by joining the #OTalk crew! 

If you are around on Tuesday (14th April) do come along to the 'Welcome Kelly #OTeaParty" between 8pm-9pm UK time. 

Preparing for #OTalk - The Role of the Occupational Therapy Assistant

 The Role of the Occupational Therapy Assistant

Reflections and Thoughts whilst Preparing to co-host #OTalk

I'm really excited to have the opportunity to co-host #OTalk next Tuesday (7th April 2015 8pm-9pm) with @ForensicDetail. The Pre-chat blog can be found over on #OTalk blog. 

As you will all probably be aware if you have been reading my blog for a while or are a fellow MSc-er at Cumbria that before started the course in September I worked (and still pick up some shifts on the bank) as an Occupational Therapy Assistant in an acute adult setting, which I really enjoyed and cemented my desire to become an occupational therapist; so I do have a vested interest in the role of OTAs in different settings. 

I have been lucky to have an observation placement in another acute setting which gave me an opportunity to see how the role of OTA differed between trusts (and technically a different country); my next placement in community paediatrics highlighted a completely different role of an assistant in that setting. I have also come into contact with OTAs from different settings/wards/specialities through work and also whilst at university; so far so this has helped to expand me knowledge of the role and tasks occupational therapy assistants undertake as part of the day to day working life. 

What I have found as my understanding of the role of OTAs grows; the broader the role appears to become. It varies from setting to setting and is equally affected by the competencies of the individual but can include but not limited to: admin tasks, ADL practise, maintaining/increasing patients abilities whilst waiting for move to home/rehab, simple assessments, planning and leading treatment sessions with individuals under the OTs instruction. It is important to note the last point as OTAs aren't qualified with the theoretical knowledge of occupational therapists (Alaszweski & Meltzer, 1979 cited in Creek 2007); so input of the occupational therapists expertise is essential if occupational therapy wants to become increasingly evidence based in its practice and the client is to be given best possible experience. 

Developing in an OTA role:

I have also been thinking a lot about how an OTA can develop in their role. I was really lucky in my role as an OTA to have a supportive team who carved out time for CPD opportunities each month, to be part of a journal club that allowed me to begin to link to evidence base and also have meetings with other OTAs in the hospital to build on skills and share knowledge and experience with each other. I believe that those opportunities helped me in my decision to progress with my desire to study OT; but also helped my do my job to best of my abilities. The opportunities helped me to not only develop as an assistant but also helped me feel valued in the team as I was given the same time allocation for CPD and opportunities (journal club, and assistant groups) as the qualified OTs in the department. I also benefited from being able to share my knowledge of the department with new starts into the department such as rotational band 5s which enabled my confidence to grow in the part I played in the therapy team. 

The move from OTA to OT Student:

As I have moved to become a OT student the skills I learnt and developed in my role have been a good grounding in the profession; but I have also had to overcome a few hurdles when learning the theory behind the 'ideal' OT scenarios in practice; this has made me question the fundamentals at points and the understanding of how it should be in practice has added a sometimes unwelcome layer to my learning. This has meant that I have to be more aware of how negative aspects of practice i have experienced as an OTA can impact on my learning and also the learning of others in group learning settings so not to affect the moral of learning the theory for others. 

Also on placement it has been both a positive and a negative. Positive in the respect that my understanding of the constraints of service pressures on the role of OT, my underlying assessment, practical and observation skills and general understanding of the OT process. But also negatively in the respect (which I know is echoed by other students with an OTA background I have spoken to), sometimes educators on placement can take for granted that you know something as you have worked as an assistant; and don't always explain the roots of the things they are doing; I have also found that especially in the first couple of placements I almost wasn't sure how much I should be doing at that level but as I begin PP2 next week I think this will be much less of an issue. 

As I have mentioned before I have had the chance to meet some amazing OTAs (and OTs) whilst on my placement (and i will meet so many more as I go back out on placement), who have helped my understand the role of occupational therapy in the setting they are based in; they have also helped my learn skills in planning and leading treatment sessions and issuing and maintaining equipment which they have had expertise in. As a student I love to learn about OTAs role as well as the other MDT members because it helps me see the larger picture of how not only OT but other professions are helping the client to do what is important to them. 

#OTalk:

I hope that the discussion will allow for a greater picture of the occupational therapy assistant role in different settings, and for me as a student; increase understanding of the role they can play educating students on placement of the practice of OT in their particular setting.

New to #OTalk:

#OTalk is a twitter discussion using the hash tag - #OTalk, every Tuesday between 8pm-9pm (UK Time). It aims to hold discussion based on occupational therapy and occupational science topics. Please check out their website for more information and how you can use these discussions as part of your CPD.

Remember to add #OTalk to your tweets if you are planning to join the chat! 

References

Creek, Jennifer, and Anne Lawson-Porter, eds. Contemporary issues in occupational therapy: reasoning and reflection. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

COT (2011) ‘Become an OT Support Worker.’ Accessed 27 January 2015. Available at: http://www.cot.co.uk/support-workers/become-ot-support-worker

Reflections on Hoisting and Wheelchair Sessions

As previously discussed in "Week 25: Too many ideas...so little time", over the last few weeks we have been taking part in practical sessions at university to give us the basic knowledge to use when on placement. This week's sessions were based on hoisting and wheelchairs, which gave us as students the chance to experience how it would feel to relinquish control and the power balance when we are hoisting/moving an individual.

http://www.arjohuntleigh.co.uk/products/patient-transfer-solutions/passive-floor-lifters/maxi-move/

Being Hoisted...

How does it feel to be hosted? For me I completely tensed up in the sling; it made me think considering I know how the equipment works, this should have relieved some of the fear but it didn't... so for patients who won't have this advantage of knowledge it must be so much more scary.

The power is with the person doing the hoisting and working the equipment. The patient needs to place their trust in an health care professional that they may have just met when they are feel at there most vulnerable, not to mention most probably in those shapeless hospital gowns.

It is of great importance that as health care professionals we are able to reassure the patient and protect their dignity whilst helping them to transfer.

Learning Points:

• Let the person know what you are doing as you go through the process.
• If you can stand beside them when hoisting - Do so! 
• Give the person dignity when hoisting them! 

Wheelchairs

We also got the chance to experience using a wheelchair around campus, which was a lot harder than I had imaged it to be; heavy doors, high handles and doors that open outwards were among a few of the issues faced just getting around, not including the added obstacle of communicating when you aren't at the same level as others.

Even to push someone in a wheelchair there is so much you need to know to do so safely, such as coming of he curb backwards - you need to be so much more aware of the environment when driving the chair, and it again there is the balance of power that the user gives over to the person pushing them.

Learning Points:

• Remember the person in the chair does not want to face the wall in the lift... they want to be able to join in the conversation!!
• Doors are challenging in a wheelchair.